Son Choix
by audi katia
Summary: There’s only so much computer Aelita can take at once. Sometimes she needs art and color instead. But Odd knows she never really belonged with him.


So, recently, I got really into Code Lyoko again. I've just watched nearly every episode after not watching it for nearly two years. The episode where Odd and Aelita kiss really had me amused. I always loved the idea of unrequited love between them. And thus this plot bunny was born.

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**Some things to point out:**

-The title is "Her Choice" in French.

-Please, JxA fans, spare me the flames.

-I don't own Code Lyoko. Surprise.

-This is a one-shot. So there probably won't be any more chapters.

-Enjoy!

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**Son Choix**

_(Her Choice)_

Aelita can only handle so much technology when she's lived in a computer for who knows how long. So when Jeremie uploads another program on his laptop, Aelita edges out the door.

The rain outside falls too hard for her to take a walk outside, and Yumi and Ulrich spar too intensely to notice her awkward entrance into the gymnasium. So she wanders off to Odd's room, eager for some sort of company.

She knocks on the door, waiting for his response. Even though complete silence greets her, Aelita still slips in. She knows this is probably rude, but she and Odd are friends and she just needs to be somewhere where numbers and computers don't choke her.

Kiwi opens his eyes and wags his tail the minute her face registers. Barking for attention, he draws her to Odd's bed.Giggling, she pets Kiwi, resting her head against Odd's pillow. Kiwi walks around in a circle before settling down beside Aelita. She hears Kiwi's breathing turn steady and she knows he feel asleep. Lulled by the rain against the window, she, too, closes her eyes.

How long she slept, she doesn't know. But when she opens her eyes, a deeper shade of darkness can be seen outside and Odd looks in at her at the doorway. A few seconds of sleepiness slow her down and she stares hazily up at Odd and his expectant expression, eyes wide and lips slightly parted.

The next thing she knows, she leaps off his bed. She stumbles over an apology to Kiwi who now yips at the excitement. She refuses to even look at Odd when she apologizes to him. Her words jumble together, running a mile a minute, and for the life of her, she fails to understand why she's so embarrassed.

Aelita stops mid sentence, apologizing for making his pillow smell like her when she finally notices his smile. Her words trail off and her fingers play with the ends of her skirt as she realizes just how silly she behaved. Making his pillow smell? Really? Oh, she could just die of embarrassment! He just waves it off, winking. He jokes that he wishes all girls ended up in his bed. Aelita has lived in the world long enough to understand and her blush deepens even more.

Sometime during her rapid apology, she apparently mentioned her previous boredom. Odd takes her by the elbow, jabbering all about the painting he just worked on. He swears that she'll love it because it really is amazing. As he continues to boast, she smiles because she knows she _will _love it.

Racing down a flight of stairs, Odd leaps down the last six, falling light on his feet. Aelita finds herself thinking of cats and their uncanny ability to land on their feet. She giggles to herself and he thinks she's laughing at his jump. He teases her back, betting she could never possibly jump as well as him.

Aelita embraces the challenge, glad to not be treated like she's made of glass for once. Taking a deep breath, she bounds off the seventh step, one step more than him. Her hair whips backwards and it thrills her. But her landing proves far less graceful than Odd's, and**,** sprawled on the floor, she laughs for all she's worth.

Odd laughs, too, saying that's what she gets for trying to upstage him. He holds out a hand to help her up and she gratefully accepts. He pulls her up close to his face and holds tight to her hand for a moment.

And in that one moment, Aelita feels her breath catch in her throat. She notices a freckle above his left eyebrow and the orange paint smudged on his chin. His eyes twinkle and she sees the wink he doesn't give. Then he runs off towards the art room again. She just needs to see his best work, he says.

Smiling and breathless, she follows him down the hall, wondering if Jeremie was mad at her for leaving.

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Odd's best work ever was soon replaced by an even better piece of work: a clay statue of Kiwi. Then, a positive and negative drawing of the factory stole the show. His best works continued to get better and better. He owed everything to her, he said. It seemed as though she inspired him. Aelita would blush every time he said so, much to his amusement, and he would immediately start a new art project.

Aelita, living with numbers and symbols and virtual environments for years, becomes very acute to all the art that Odd produces. He finds soon that she's his biggest fan.

One day, she brings him a picture of a wildflower the same shade as her hair that she found in the school garden. Shyly and sweetly in a purely Aelita-like way, she asks him if he would please paint the flower for her. They both know she doesn't have to ask, but she wouldn't be Aelita if she didn't.

This becomes his first priority and he soon presents the finished painting to her. Odd knows he will never forget the bright eyed expression on her face as she smiles. She looks up with wide eyes, telling him his painting is more beautiful than the real thing.

She compliments his work so earnestly that he actually blushes. Yumi jokes that this is a first. Aelita feels guilty when she finally notices that Jeremie doesn't laugh along with the rest of them. She wonders what makes it so hard to spend time with both of them.

But the guilt vanishes the moment she enters the art room. Odd grins so widely that she is positive his face will split. Odd paints again and more paint shows on his face and clothes than on the canvas. Aelita laughs and skips over to a table. She works on the coloring book Odd gave her as a beginner's art project.

The radio pumps music through the air. Odd hums off key, causing Aelita to giggle. The music plays fast, the sunlight shines bright, and Aelita can't express just how happy she is to be on Earth.

The mood soon changes as the song changes. The sunlight, once bright, now seems to cast a soft glow on the room. Aelita feels a shift move through the room and glances up to see Odd staring at her.

Her hand ceases coloring, her foot stops tapping. The sunlight, once bright, now illuminates the room softly. The music swells louder in the background, but not loud enough to mask the ringing in her ears.

Somehow, despite her quickened heartbeat and tensed muscles, she finds her voice to ask why he looks at her. He just grins and tells her to not worry about it, but his eyes never lose that intense, artistic stare.

As quickly as she leapt off his bed so many weeks ago, Aelita realizes that maybe it_ is _time to go back to computers and numbers. Maybe there _is _such a thing as too much color and art. She packs up her crayons, careful not to even look at the purple crayon she just held.

As carefully as she avoided looking at the crayon, she refuses to so much as glance at Odd as she makes her departure. She only mumbles an apology and thanks for the fun she had while it lasted.

Running down the hall to apologize to Jeremie, she feels like she left something of hers back in the art room. Briefly, she wonders if it's worth going back for. It's not, she decides.

Odd looks slightly downcast when she leaves, but he knows it's probably for the best. He knows how much Jeremie missed her company. He knows Aelita never belonged with him. Not really. Not in the long run. He knows.

But he can't help but smile when his art teacher comments on his latest works. The shades of pink shine brighter than all the other colors.


End file.
